Abstract Objective To use a large population-level database to assess survival outcomes for collecting duct renal cell carcinoma (CDRCC). Materials and methods The National Cancer Database was ...queried for all cases of CDRCC and clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) from 2004 to 2013. After removing patients with other cancer diagnoses, the analytic cohort was composed of 201,686 CCRCC and 577 CDRCC cases. Kaplan-Meier and cox proportional hazards analysis were employed to model survival. Results Compared to CCRCC, patients with CDRCC presented with higher grade and stage, node positive, and metastatic disease (70.7% vs. 30.0% with metastasis; P <0.001). Overall median survival for CDRCC was 13.2 months (95% CI: 11.0–15.5) compared to the 122.5 months (95% CI: 121.0–123.9) for CCRCC. On multivariate analysis of the CDRCC cohort, increasing T stage, high-grade disease, and metastasis were predictors of mortality. Of 184 patients with metastatic CDRCC, 113 underwent cytoreductive nephrectomy (CNx) whereas the rest were treated with chemo/radiation or observed. Survival outcomes were improved in patients who received both CNx with chemo/radiation compared to CNx alone (hazard ratio = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.32–0.79) or chemo/radiation alone (hazard ratio = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.37–0.89) on multivariate analysis. Conclusion CDRCC is an aggressive subtype of renal cell carcinoma. Median survival is 13 months after diagnosis, drastically lower than for CCRCC. More than 70% of patients have metastatic disease at diagnosis. Chemo/radiation in addition to CNx is associated with a survival benefit over single mode therapy.
Purpose
The goal of the current study was to evaluate the effect of a standardized prostate mpMRI reporting template on urologists’ understanding and confidence in counselling a patient on the ...results of the MRI. To do this we performed a survey study to assess the understanding and confidence of urologists reviewing reports prior to (pre) and after (post) adoption of a standardized mpMRI template.
Methods
Six urologists reviewed ten pre- and post- mpMRI templated reports and completed a survey to assess the clarity of key elements and the confidence in counseling the patient. The urologists were blinded to the study objective. Nonparametric constrained permutation test for significance was performed to compare the results prior to and after implementation of the template.
Results
29 pre- and 30 post-template mpMRI reports were reviewed. The average score for the post-template reports was significantly higher (10.7 ± 0.6 vs 7.5 ± 2.7
p
< 0.001) regardless of the reviewer. Urologists were also overall more confident in counselling patients when the standardized mpMRI reporting template had been used.
Conclusion
Implementation of a standardized template for reporting of prostate mpMRI findings resulted in improved clarity and confidence in counselling patients. Radiologists should consider implementing a standardized reporting template to improve clinicians’ understanding and confidence of the report.
Multiple phase I-II clinical trials have reported on the efficacy and safety of prostate stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for the treatment of prostate cancer. However, few have reported ...outcomes for prostate SBRT using periprostatic hydrogel spacer (SpaceOAR; Augmenix). Herein, we report safety and efficacy outcomes from our institutional prostate SBRT experience with SpaceOAR placement.
Fifty men with low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer treated at a single institution with linear accelerator-based SBRT to 3625 cGy in 5 fractions, with or without androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) were included. All patients underwent SpaceOAR and fiducial marker placement followed by pre-treatment MRI. Toxicity assessments were conducted at least weekly while on treatment, 1 month after treatment, and every follow-up visit thereafter. Post-treatment PSA measurements were obtained 4 months after SBRT, followed by every 3-6 months thereafter. Acute toxicity was documented per RTOG criteria.
Median follow up time was 20 (range 4-44) months. Median PSA at time of diagnosis was 7.4 (2.7-19.5) ng/ml. Eighteen men received 6 months of ADT for unfavorable intermediate risk disease. No PSA failures were recorded. Median PSA was 0.9 ng/mL at 20 months; 0.08 and 1.32 ng/mL in men who did and did not receive ADT, respectively. Mean prostate-rectum separation achieved with SpaceOAR was 9.6 ± 4 mm at the prostate midgland. No grade ≥ 3 GU or GI toxicity was recorded. During treatment, 30% of men developed new grade 2 GU toxicity (urgency or dysuria). These symptoms were present in 30% of men at 1 month and in 12% of men at 1 year post-treatment. During treatment, GI toxicity was limited to grade 1 symptoms (16%), although 4% of men developed grade 2 symptoms during the first 4 weeks after SBRT. All GI symptoms were resolving by the 1 month post-treatment assessment and no acute or late rectal toxicity was reported > 1 month after treatment.
Periprostatic hydrogel placement followed by prostate SBRT resulted in minimal GI toxicity, and favorable early oncologic outcomes. These results indicate that SBRT with periprostatic spacer is a well-tolerated, safe, and convenient treatment option for localized prostate cancer.
Purpose
To characterize the treatment patterns and survival outcomes of sarcomatoid bladder cancer, a rare urothelial variant histology using a large population level cancer database.
Methods
The ...National Cancer Database was queried for all cases of sarcomatoid bladder cancer using International Classification of Disease-O-3 morphologic code 8122 between 2004 and 2014. Primary outcome was overall survival.
Results
A total of 489 patients met our inclusion criteria and were included in our analysis. Average age at diagnosis was 70.4 years. The majority of the population was male (61.8%) and Caucasian (92.2%). Tumor characteristics included 23.7% cT1, 41.1% cT2 and 15.3% cT3 or above. Median overall survival was 18.4 months (95% CI 13.3–23.6). On multivariate Cox proportional analysis, radical cystectomy alone or with multimodal therapy (chemotherapy or radiotherapy) resulted in a statistically significant reduction in the risk of death as compared to bladder preservation surgery alone. Survival in the radical cystectomy group did not differ between radical cystectomy alone and those receiving either neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy.
Conclusions
Sarcomatoid bladder cancer has poor prognosis with 18.4-month median overall survival. While our data suggest that aggressive treatment improves outcomes, the role of multimodal therapy is unclear. Future study should continue to focus on multi-institutional collaboration to determine the most effective therapy.
The SpaceOAR hydrogel is employed to limit rectal radiation dose during prostate radiotherapy. We identified a novel parameter - the product of angle θ and hydrogel volume - to quantify hydrogel ...placement. This parameter predicted rectum dosimetry and acute rectal toxicity in prostate cancer patients treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy to 36.25 Gy in 5 fractions.
Twenty men with low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer underwent hydrogel placement from 2015 to 2017. Hydrogel symmetry was assessed on the CT simulation scan in 3 axial slices (midgland, 1 cm above midgland, 1 cm below midgland). Two novel parameters quantifying hydrogel placement - hydrogel volume and angle θ formed by the prostate, hydrogel, and rectum - were measured, and the normalized product of θ and hydrogel volume calculated. These were then correlated with perirectal distance, rectum maximum 1-3 cc point doses (rD
1-3 cc), and rectum volumes receiving 80-95% of the prescription dose (rV80-95%). Acute rectal toxicity was recorded per RTOG criteria.
In 50% of patients, hydrogel placement was symmetric bilaterally to within 1 cm of midline in all three CT simulation scan axial slices. Lateral hydrogel asymmetry < 2 cm in any one axial slice did not affect rectum dosimetry, but absence of hydrogel in the inferior axial slice resulted in a mean increase of 171 cGy in the rD
1 cc (p < 0.005). The perirectal distance measured at prostate midgland, midline (mean 9.1 ± 4.3 mm) correlated strongly with rV95 (R
0.6, p < 0.001). The mean hydrogel volume and θ were 10.3 ± 4.5 cc and 70 ± 49°, respectively. Perirectal distance, rV95 and rD
1 cc correlated with hydrogel angle θ (p < 0.01), and yet more strongly with the novel metric θ*hydrogel volume (p < 0.001). With a median follow up of 14 months, no rectal toxicity >grade 2 was observed. Low grade rectal toxicity was observed in a third of men and resolved within 1 month of SBRT. Men who had these symptoms had higher rD
1 cc and smaller θ*hydrogel volume measurements.
Optimal hydrogel placement occurs at prostate midgland, midline. The novel parameter θ*hydrogel volume describes a large proportion of rectum dosimetric benefit derived from hydrogel placement, and can be used to assess the learning curve phenomenon for hydrogel placement.
Objectives
To determine whether perioperative blood transfusion is associated with worse 30‐day postoperative outcomes in radical cystectomy patients.
Methods
Utilizing the National Surgical Quality ...Improvement Program database, we identified 2934 patients diagnosed with bladder cancer (International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision codes 188–188.9) who underwent radical cystectomy (Current Procedure Terminology codes 51570, 51575, 51580, 51585, 51590, 51595, 51596) between 2005 and 2013. Patients were stratified by transfusion status and assessed based on four composite postoperative outcomes: morbidity, surgical site infection, mortality and readmission. Multivariate regression models were used to determine significant independent predictors of the composite outcomes.
Results
Overall, 40.1% of patients received a transfusion, and there were significant differences in baseline variables such as age, sex, body mass index, smoking history and comorbidities. Transfusion was associated with increased morbidity, surgical site infection, readmission, operative time and length of stay on unadjusted analyses. On multivariate regression, transfusion was associated with increased morbidity (OR 1.361, 95% CI 1.131–1.638) and surgical site infection (OR 1.371, 95% CI 1.070–1.757).
Conclusions
Perioperative blood transfusion is associated with increased risk of postoperative infection and morbidity. Previous work in this area has focused on negative long‐term oncological outcomes, but this is the first study to examine short‐term postoperative outcomes. Future research should focus on the immunosuppressive mechanism of perioperative blood transfusion and on restrictive transfusion guidelines for oncology patients.
Abstract Background The Phoenix definition (PD) and Stuttgart definition (SD) designed to determine biochemical recurrence (BCR) in patients with postradiotherapy and high-intensity focused ...ultrasound organ-confined prostate cancer are being applied to follow patients after cryosurgery. We sought to identify predictors of BCR using the PD and SD criteria in patients who underwent primary focal cryosurgery (PFC). Materials and methods We performed a retrospective review of patients who underwent PFC (hemiablation) at 2 referral centers from 2000 to 2014. Patients were followed up with serial prostate-specific antigen (PSA). PSA levels, pre- and post-PFC biopsy, Gleason scores, number of positive cores, and BCR (PD = PSA nadir+2 ng/ml; SD = PSA nadir+1.2 ng/ml) were recorded. Patients who experienced BCR were biopsied, monitored carefully or treated at the discretion of the treating urologist. Cox regression and survival analyses were performed to assess time to BCR using PD and SD. Results A total of 163 patients were included with a median follow-up of 36.6 (interquartile range: 18.9–56.4) months. In all, 64 (39.5%) and 98 (60.5%) experienced BCR based on PD and SD, respectively. On multivariable Cox regression, the number of positive pre-PFC biopsy cores was an independent predictor of both PD (hazard ratio HR = 1.4, P = 0.001) and SD (HR = 1.3, P = 0.006) BCRs. Post-PFC PSA nadir was an independent predictor of BCR using the PD (HR = 2.2, P = 0.024) but not SD (HR = 1.4, P = 0.181). Survival analysis demonstrated a 3-year BCR-free survival rate of 56% and 36% for PD and SD, respectively. Of those biopsied after BCR, 14/26 (53.8%) using the PD and 18/35 (51.4%) using the SD were found to have residual/recurrent cancer. Of those with prostate cancer on post-PFC biopsy, 57.1% of those with BCR by the PD and 66.7% of those with BCR by the SD were found to have a Gleason score ≥7. Conclusion Both the PD and the SD may be used to determine BCR in post-PFC patients. However, the ideal definition of BCR after PFC remains to be elucidated.
The most common complications after renal transplant are urologic and are a cause of significant morbidity in a vulnerable population. We sought to characterize the timing and predictors of urologic ...complications after renal transplant using a statewide database.
We queried the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System database to identify patients who underwent renal transplant from 2005 to 2013. Postoperative complications included hydronephrosis, ureteral stricture, vesicoureteral reflux, nephrolithiasis, and urinary tract infections. Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess independent predictors of urologic complications.
In total, 9038 patients were included in the analyses. Urologic complications occurred in 11.3% of patients and included hydronephrosis (12.0%), nephrolithiasis (2.8%), ureteral stricture (2.4%), and vesicoureteral reflux (1.5%). We found that 23% experienced at least one urinary tract infection. On multivariate analysis, predictors of urologic complications included medicare insurance, hypertension, and prior urinary tract infection. Graft recipients from living donors were less likely to experience urologic complications than deceased-donor kidney recipients (P < .001).
Urologic complications occur in a significant proportion of renal transplants. Further study is needed to identify risk factors for complications after renal transplantation to decrease morbidity in this vulnerable population.
Abstract Background Salvage cryosurgery (SC) is a recognised option for patients who fail either primary radiation or cryosurgery. Objective To report outcomes of patients undergoing SC. Design, ...setting, and participants A consecutive series of 396 patients who had failed either primary radiotherapy or cryosurgery underwent SC between October 1994 and August 2011. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis Demographic and clinical parameters before primary and salvage treatment were evaluated; disease-free-survival (DFS), overall-survival (OS), disease-specific-survival (DSS), and complications were assessed. Results and limitations Sufficient follow-up data were available for 328 patients. Median age was 65.8 yr (range: 45–81 yr), median serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level was 8.0 ng/ml (range: 0.6–290.0 ng/ml). After primary treatment, median time to recurrence was 55 mo (range: 0.0–183.6 mo). SC was performed at a median of 67.5 mo (range: 7.0–212.7 mo) later; median pre-SC PSA level was 4.0 ng/ml (range: 0.1–112.4 ng/ml). Median PSA nadir was 0.2 ng/ml (range: 0.01–70.70 ng/ml), reached after a median of 2.6 mo (range: 2.0–67.3 mo) after SC. Median follow-up was 47.8 mo (range: 1.6–203.5 mo). Respective 5- and 10-yr DFS was 63% and 35%; OS: 74% and 45%; and DSS: 91% and 79%. In univariate analyses, time from primary treatment to SC or recurrence, PSA level before SC, and PSA nadir after SC were all significant predictors of recurrence ( p ≤ 0.01). PSA before SC and time to recurrence were also predictive of DSS ( p = 0.003 and p = 0.01, respectively). In multivariate analyses, only PSA nadir after SC was predictive of recurrence and DSS ( p < 0.001 and p = 0.012, respectively). Complications were rare (range: 0.6–4.6%). Fifty-five patients (16.7%) underwent focal SC. Median PSA nadir after focal SC was 0.44 ng/ml (range: 0.04–20.1 ng/ml). Twenty-seven patients (49%) experienced recurrence. Respective 5- and 10-yr DFS was 47% and 42%; OS: 87% and 81%; and DSS: 100% and 83%. Conclusions Our analysis confirms SC as an effective treatment option for patients failing primary therapy. Patients experienced excellent survival outcome and minimal associated morbidity after SC. Focal SC is an efficacious treatment for properly selected patients.
To investigate specific imaging and patient-related factors associated with a false negative (FN) MRI-targeted prostate fusion biopsies (TBx) of suspicious MRI lesions.
Retrospective study of men ...with PI-RADS 4 or 5 lesions November, 2015-December 2020 with TBx and systematic biopsy (SBx) performed. Only FN and true positive (TP) targeted lesions were included. FN biopsy was defined as a negative TBx with a positive systematic core in the ROI or perilesional sextant. Logistic regression was used to determine the association of patient and imaging-specific factors with the probability of a FN TBx.
361 PI-RADS 4 or 5 lesions in 304 patients, including 67 FN (19%) and 294 TP (81%) were included. There was a significant inverse association between lesion size (OR: 0.94, P-value: .02), presence of a suspicious DRE (OR: 0.36, P-value: .02) and PSA density (OR: 0.01, P-value: .004) on the probability of obtaining a FN TBx. There was no association between age, biopsy indication, use of an enema before MRI, prostate size, or discrepant US and MRI segmentation volumes on the probability of a FN TBx.
In this cohort, SBx detected 19% of csPCa missed on TBx. Smaller PI-RADS 4/5 lesions, lower PSAD values, and a normal DRE were all associated with an increased probability of a FN TBx.